How New Year's Resolutions for Police Officers Can Benefit Law Enforcement Agencies

Let’s be brutally honest: For most people, new year's resolutions mean self-improvement that, for whatever reason, we’ve avoided. It means things like losing weight or stop smoking.

The ugly reality, though, is that about 90% of new year's resolutions are cast aside before the end of January. “I’ll try again next year,” people tell themselves. But this got me thinking: What if we made new year's resolutions for law enforcement agencies? What would those look like?

I’m not suggesting that the entire departments decide to lose 10 pounds, give up candy or eat healthier. (Wait, I am suggesting that last one.) Whether it's five or 35,000-plus officers (I’m looking at you, NYPD), your agency can benefit if its officers are motivated to be healthier, not only physically but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. What I’m suggesting is that agencies adopt a resolution that encourages officers to improve their health, no matter how incrementally, throughout the year.

There are a number of ways to go about this, and if your agency is so big as to have different precincts or substations, it can also be done at that level. One of the easiest and least costly methods is to hold a competition. For something as simple as losing weight, you can have the officers “buy in” for a few dollars ($20 is a nice round number), weigh in (dress standards have to be in place) and then, within a set time frame (maybe three months?), weigh in again. The winner gets half of the entrance fees and the other half is donated to a charity. If you make it an annual event, buy a name board to display each year's winner.

Another idea is to have a physical fitness contest. While some agencies mandate certain minimum physical standards for promotions, it can be difficult to motivate officers to start an exercise regimen. It can be even harder to get officers to maintain it long enough for it to become a habitual behavior (three months or more).

That's why starting a competition similar to the weight loss contest can help. Have an entrance fee and use exercises that aren’t strength-specific. It’s not a strong-man or weight-lifting contest; it's about fitness.

The competition should also be voluntary, so as not to run afoul of American with Disabilities Act (ADA) restrictions. Once the measured exercises are established, first-, second- and third-place winners can easily be determined. Who posted the most push-ups? Sit-ups? Pull-ups? Who can do the most burpees (does anyone like those?) in two minutes? Who can finish a mile with the best time?

Scheduling the competitions at the same time means officers can support each other. In reality, all the participants win because they improve their personal health. The agency also should realize that officers in better shape means fewer injuries and hours lost to them.

Agency resolutions = training goals

“This year the XY agency sets the goal of having our firearms qualifications scores increase, on average, five points.” If you can make that happen, your liability insurance company should be very happy, and officers should be motivated by either extra pay for range time or minor rewards for increased scores. Even something as simple as winning a gift card for beating the chief's score can be a nice sweetener.

At the end of the day, a creative leader can come up with some good ideas to motivate officers to improve themselves. If it’s done right, not only will the agency benefit, but the officers will, as well. The competitions, if held publicly, can be a great community relations tool, and you might even want to let the public participate? “You don’t have to run from the police to find out if you’re faster. Come join our fitness competition and see if you can win the race!”

I’d love to read some of your ideas, so send them to [email protected]. We’ll compile our favorites and publish them in early 2026.